Warriors: The Gathering Storm
by Misabellae
Summary: Long past are the days of Firestar, and new challenges now face ThunderClan: plots for betrayal and power, mysterious pasts, and of course, the perpetual quest to survive and excel.
1. Prologue

**Allegiances:**

**ThunderClan**

Leader

**Poppystar** – Pretty white she-cat with black patches and green eyes

Deputy

**Swiftcreek** – Wiry tortoiseshell tom

Medicine Cat

**Willowpool** – Long-haired, calico she-cat

Apprentice: Smokepaw

Warriors

**Cedartail – **Big golden tom

**Russetclaw – **Reddish tabby tom

Apprentice: Applepaw

**Nightwing – **Pretty black she-cat with white patches and green eyes

**Icestorm** – White she-cat with icy blue eyes

**Batears** – Dark brown she-cat with abnormally large ears

**Pebblestep – **Light gray tom with prominent black tabby markings

Apprentice: Foxpaw

**Falconstrike – **Dark gray tom

**Ashstorm** – Dark smoky gray she-cat

Apprentice: Stormpaw

**Rabbitstep** – Small, light brown she-cat

**Mintcloud – **White she-cat flecked with ginger

**Nightfur – **Black tom

**Pinefrost** – Glossy black she-cat with dark green eyes

**Brownleaf** – Brown tabby and white she-cat

**Silentwing – **Lean black and white tom

Apprentice: Sparrowpaw

Apprentices

**Foxpaw** – Orange tom with white legs, tail tip and underside and green eyes

**Applepaw** – White she-cat with an orange front left paw and green eyes

**Smokepaw** – Gray and white patched tom with green eyes

**Sparrowpaw** – Dark brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

**Stormpaw** – Silvery tabby with bright yellow eyes

Queens

_Currently none_

Elders

**Snowfoot** – White, long haired she-cat

**Voletuft** – Brown tabby she-cat with a white underbelly and a short tail

**Maplelegs** – Stocky, reddish-brown tom with darker rings on his legs

Prologue

It was a dark night – ominous storm clouds swirled above, shielding the light of both stars and moon from the forest below.

A rumble of distant thunder mingled with the fierce yowls of five cats as they fanned out and formed a circle around a pathetic, huddling figure – a mother cat huddling protectively over two kits. Her fur was fluffed out and her eyes were wide in terror, but it did not stop her from hissing furiously as a dark brown she-cat with large ears took a swipe at her.

"That's enough, Batears," A wiry tortoiseshell tom, the cat who had led the patrol, said.

"Yes, Swiftcreek," Batear muttered as she fell back into her place in the ring.

"Rogue," Swiftcreek continued, "Do you realize that you have trespassed on ThunderClan territory?"

The mother cat, too stricken to speak, only crouched lower over her kits, mouthing silent pleas.

"And you're not getting away with trespassing on _our_ territory!" Batears jeered, as she and another tom crouched, obviously eager to attack and punish.

"_No!_" A big golden tom yowled. Every cat froze, taken aback. "Swiftcreek," the tom implored, "ThunderClan cats are above this behavior! She's a defenseless mother, surely not a threat."

"But it's a rogue on our territory!" Batears whined, turning, too, to face Swiftcreek.

The rogue seized her chance with the cats distracted, and bolted from the ring with a kit swinging precariously from her jaws. Batears screeched in anger as she dashed off into the night, and looked as though she wanted to give chase when Swiftcreek called her back.

"Cedartail is right," Swiftcreek mewed, nodding towards the gold tom. "She should have enough sense to know not to come back." Seeing Batears was about to protest, he added quickly, "And we'll drive her off if she trespasses again. Anyway, let's move out, it looks like-"

Swiftcreek trailed off when all five cats noticed a pitiful mewling coming from the center of their circle. They all looked down in shock, and realized one of the kits had been left behind.

"We must take him back to camp! Surely ThunderClan wouldn't let a helpless kit die?" Cedartail said immediately.

Swiftcreek regained his composure. "Rabbitstep, would you mind?" He asked. A small brown she-cat peeled away from her place in the circle to gently pick up the kit by the scruff of his neck. "Let's get him back to camp." He turned and wheeled away, while the rest of the patrol followed, Cedartail keeping a careful eye on the tiny bundle swinging from Rabbitstep's jaws.

Back at the ThunderClan camp, the medicine cat was consumed by a troubling sleep. The long-haired calico she-cat padded along, alone, through a barren field of tall grasses whipped by a violent wind. Shadows of cats leaped and bounded around her, whispering unintelligible messages. It was too dark to see clearly, but ahead the bodies of cats seemed to lay motionless on the ground.

A voice suddenly pierced the whispers and rustles of the wind. "A fierce storm is brewing for the clan…"

A warning? The she-cat strained her ears, expecting more. But at that moment, a tremendous clap of thunder rent the night, jolting her from the dream.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Thank you so much for the feedback! I do have a plot in mind, so hopefully everything will go well. As for names, I do have the kit's name already picked out, as you'll soon see. I have most of the apprentices' warrior names planned out as well, but there are a few I'm still on the fence about, so I'd love to hear any suggestions! There will be new kits in the future, too, so please share any ideas. Feedback is wonderful. :) Enjoy!

**Chapter 1**

It was nearly sun-high when Stormpaw finally blinked his bright eyes blearily to find light already streaming into the apprentices' den. He yawned and stretched luxuriously, absently trying to remember his dream from last night. It had to have been odd - it had kept him tossing and turning all night - but now, he simply couldn't remember it. Stomach growling, Stormpaw stepped into the camp, hoping Ashstorm, his mentor, would want to go hunting. His silvery fur seemed to shine in the bright sun.

A sudden yowl from behind him made Stormpaw's jump. He whirled around just in time to see a streak of orange and white fur barrel into him. With a small 'oof', Stormpaw tumbled to the ground, landing in an ungraceful heap. His attacker, a very pleased looking young tom, smugly rested a paw on top of Stormpaw's chest. "Wake up, mouse-brain. A _kit_ could have gotten you."

"Only ShadowClan would sneak up on somebody from behind like that!"

"Pah! You had plenty of warning; you're just too slow for me! Besides, I'm faster, stronger, and better smelling than any ShadowClan warrior. Way better looking, too," Foxpaw posed mock-majestically, orange pelt glowing in the sun and white chest puffed out.

Stormpaw seized his opportunity to wriggle out from under Foxpaw's paw, leap up, and cuff him over the ear, prompting a small wrestling outside the apprentice den. It was all in good fun, of course – the two toms had been like brothers to each other ever since Stormpaw joined the clan.

Over four moons had passed since the fateful, stormy night when the ThunderClan patrol had taken a kit abandoned by a trespassing rogue back to the camp. The kit had been met with many different reactions – some had welcomed the opportunity for a new warrior, particularly Cedartail, but many had opposed a rogue's kin in the clan. The leader, Poppystar, stood firm: ThunderClan had almost no apprentices, and needed warriors. The kit could stay and be trained.

As Stormpaw and Foxpaw wrestled, a patrol streamed in through the bramble camp entrance. A young dark brown tabby she-cat, Sparrowpaw, strutted passed, rolling her eyes. "_Toms,_" She mewed teasingly, before heading off to the fresh-kill pile with her mentor Silentwing. Foxpaw straightened up at once.

A white she-cat flecked with ginger brought up the rear of the patrol, and purred in amusement at the sight of them, covered in dust. "Wash up," She advised in her kindly, soft voice. It was Foxpaw's mother, Mintcloud, but her sweet scent always brought memories of warmth and the nursery to Stormpaw. When he had been inducted into the clan, she nursed him along with her own litter.

"I can take care of myself," Foxpaw mumbled, as he hurriedly licked his chest before Mintcloud could start grooming him in front of the whole clan. She smiled good naturedly and moved on, being quite experienced with the habits of young toms and apprentices this age.

"Stormpaw!"

The silvery apprentice jumped to attention as his mentor, Ashstorm, padded across the camp towards him. "You're finally awake? Good! I was going to wake you up if you weren't up already. We're doing some battle training today, and we'll do a bit of hunting after that if it goes well. Oh, hello, Pebblestep."

A gray tom with prominent tabby markings approached from behind Foxpaw. "We're going on a border patrol today," He informed Foxpaw.

A hasty good-bye was muttered to Foxpaw as Stormpaw tore after his mentor. He followed the dark gray she-cat through the thorn tunnel, excitement making his paw steps quick. Ashstorm had been dwelling on hunting for quite a while; Stormpaw was eager to practice more fighting, although it was true he had hardly been an apprentice for a moon.

Stormpaw was Ashstorm's first apprentice, and she seemed almost as determined to prove to the whole Clan that Stormpaw would be a mighty warrior one day as he was. Naturally, as he was not clan-born, some cats were under the impression that he could never amount to a "pure" warrior. Ashstorm, whether for Stormpaw's benefit or to prove her own competency as a mentor, wanted to prove the doubters wrong. Thus far, her mode of doing so had been to carefully work at and master a skill until putting it into practice.

"Oh, mouse-dung…" Ashstorm muttered when they arrived at the training hollow. Two other cats were already there; the large, reddish tabby Russetclaw, and his apprentice, Applepaw – a small white she-cat with one ginger forepaw, and Foxpaw's sister.

Ashstorm recovered quickly. "Well, you and Applepaw can spar! We'll review the basics before getting into some in-depth moves."

Stormpaw padded towards the training hollow, trying not to betray the anxiety he was feeling. He had nothing against Applepaw – she was a quiet, sweet she-cat by nature – it was the fact he was battling before a critical audience.

"Hardly a fair fight," Russetclaw was muttering, none-too subtly, to Ashstorm. Her ears flicked in annoyance, but she stubbornly refused to give the bigger tom any acknowledgement. He continued, "Rogue blood just can't compare to a warrior's…"

"Bold words for someone who isn't pure ThunderClan himself!" Ashstorm snapped suddenly.

Startled, Stormpaw looked up at the two mentors. Russetclaw looked outraged, but said nothing when he noticed Stormpaw looking; in stead, he fixed the apprentice with a hateful snare.

It was a mistake. While he was distracted from the pending spar, Applepaw had seized the opportunity to dart forward and, using her smaller, lighter frame to her advantage, swipe Stormpaw's paws out from under him. He toppled forward, put off balance trying to catch Applepaw before she darted away, dancing out of reach. Even if she was quiet normally, Stormpaw could tell she would be a ferocious fighter. Russetclaw sneered.

Ears burning with humiliation, Stormpaw crouched down, anticipating Applepaw's following attack. She circled around him, keeping a cool expression that betrayed little. Stormpaw watched carefully. She suddenly lunged, feigning as though to leap up, but aiming for his left leg at the last moment. Somehow, Stormpaw's reflexes told him, and he knew to react – jumping up at the last moment, to come down clumsily on top of Applepaw. They tussled briefly, before Stormpaw overpowered her with his greater size.

"Pathetic," Russetclaw muttered.

"What do you mean? He's a natural!" Ashstorm exclaimed gleefully. "Both of you, let's run that again – aim for a different target this time, Applepaw. Stormpaw will practice dodging out of the way."

The sun seemed to race across the sky as the training passed, Stormpaw reveling in every moment. They mostly practiced reacting to different angles of attacks, Ashstorm enthusiastically directing while Russetclaw glowered in the background, making curt comments here and there.

"Faster, Stormpaw, Applepaw's quick!" Ashstorm was encouraging when the bush nearby shuddered, and Foxpaw burst into the clearing, sides heaving. A cut above his eye was still bleeding, obscuring part of his vision.

"Hurry, come with me!" Foxpaw gasped to the four others. "ShadowClan crossed the border, there's a fight, we need reinforcements!"


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Thank you once more for the reviews! It just tickles me pink to hear what you think (ha! I rhymed!). I feel like this chapter is relatively short, but hopefully I've made up for the length with a lot of action. Enjoy!

**Chapter 2**

Five sets of paws beat the ground as the two warriors and three apprentices raced to assist their clan-mates. They had not waited for an explanation, and Foxpaw was too winded to waste any breath before wheeling around immediately and leading the group to the fight.

Soon screeches and the other sounds of battle could be heard. The five ThunderClan cats raced into the clearing and beheld the fighting occurring just inside ThunderClan territory. The two sides favored ShadowClan; they had four warriors and an apprentice fighting three ThunderClan warriors.

Russetclaw didn't hesitate in launching himself into the battle, leaping on top of a tortoiseshell she-cat that had a light-brown ThunderClan tom, Pebblestep, Foxpaw's mentor, pinned. Russetclaw used his momentum to shoulder the tortoiseshell off of Pebblestep, when he quickly sank his teeth into her thigh, while Pebblestep scrabbled at her chest. The she-cat screeched and writhed to get away, soon escaping to flee across the border with blood streaming from her hind leg.

Ashstorm had gone to aid the black and white ThunderClan she-cat Nightwing duke it out with a densely muscled brown tabby tom. Ashstorm beat away the paw the large tom had hooked into Nightwing's pelt, and suffered a hefty blow to the head that sent her sprawling. Nightwing quickly seized her brief opportunity to grab a hold of their opponent's neck until Ashstorm to recover and help force the tom back over the border, whence he jerked from the hold and fled.

Stormpaw had noticed the ThunderClan deputy Swiftcreek valiantly battling two toms – a yellow and black one – at once. With a flying leap he landed on the back of the yellow tom, sinking his claws into his shoulders. Furious, the ShadowClan warrior bucked wildly before rolling over and slamming Stormpaw into the earth. Winded, he barely managed to scrabble wildly at the yellow tom's stomach as he tried to sink his teeth into Stormpaw's neck.

Foxpaw suddenly dashed over, having successfully driven off the ShadowClan apprentice with his sister, Applepaw. The orange apprentice grabbed a hold of one of the yellow tom's ears and pulled, while Applepaw quickly joined by yanking viciously with her teeth on the tom's tail. Overwhelmed, the imposing warrior turned and, too, dashed off.

Swiftcreek was locked in a violent tussle with the remaining ShadowClan black tom. Russetclaw hurriedly joined the fray, pursuing the frenzied duo as they crashed away through the bushes.

Ashstorm, shaky from the hard blow she had taken but still standing, muttered, "He won't stand a chance for long against Swiftcreek _and_ Russetclaw."

She, Nightwing, Pebblestep, Foxpaw, Applepaw and Stormpaw seemed to have avoided any mortal wounds. Besides Foxpaw's and a few other minor cuts, like a stinging one along Stormpaw's neck, Pebblestep had a gouge down his front and Applepaw was gingerly holding off the ground her one ginger forepaw, now blending with slowly oozing blood, where the ShadowClan apprentice had managed to get in a nasty bite. Stormpaw suddenly felt a shiver of fury towards the dark gray apprentice that had been driven off, and wished he been a part of the quick work Foxpaw and Applepaw had made of him.

A horrible screech suddenly rent the air, following by a furious yowl. "Swiftcreek!" Silentwing breathed softly. The once relieved ThunderClan patrol suddenly snapped back to attention, anxiously padding towards where the deputy, Russetclaw, and the black ShadowClan cat had disappeared.

Russetclaw burst towards them, beside himself with anger. "Swiftcreek! He killed Swiftcreek!" He bellowed, and yowled once more.

"No!" Ashstorm and Pebblestep gasped in unison.

"Come! Come see!" Russetclaw snarled, leading the group a short distance towards another clearing. There the deputy's wiry tortoiseshell body lay, blood flowing freely from the large, open wound that had been torn in his throat.

"We must get him back to camp!" Ashstorm moaned.

"You must go ahead and tell Poppystar!" Russetclaw snapped, as he, Pebblestep, and the three apprentices, wounds forgotten, began to bear the deputy's limp body away. Ashstorm seemed to forget any indignation at being commanded by the senior warrior that she normally might have had, and turned and dashed back to camp.

Nightwing hadn't yet moved – she merely stood stock still, looking thunderstruck, her green eyes wide in disbelief.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Once again, I appreciate all feedback. Here's a longer chapter, to make up for the last short one. Things should be starting to develop more and whatnot at this point... I'm still open for opionons on potential warrior names for our lovely apprentices. In fact, I'd love to hear anything you think! Enjoy! And please, please review!

**Chapter 3**

The once sunny day had darkened and cooled as the blue sky was covered with swirling clouds. Stormpaw looked up at the gray sky and thought that StarClan must be sharing ThunderClan's grief.

The whole clan had not needed to be called to assemble; the news of the death of the deputy had spread like wildfire upon Ashstorm's return, so that that every cat was informed by the time the patrol arrived. Swiftcreek had been a respected and well-liked deputy; many mourned the loss.

Poppystar, her white fur and black patches seeming dull in the dim light, still appeared elegant as she hunched over Swiftcreek's dead body, as though in physical pain. Her grief-stricken cry upon first seeing her deputy's corpse still seemed to echo eerily in Stormpaw's mind, even though it had been a good while ago. More unnerving, Poppystar had yet to say anything else. What if she remained silent so long that she failed to name the new deputy by moonhigh?

Willowpool, the medicine cat, and her apprentice, the light gray and white tom Smokepaw, had already rubbed a poultice on Stormpaw's neck to soothe the scratch that stopped bleeding of its own accord. Pebblestep had to stay with them, so they could be sure the deep gash in his chest was not infected. The rest of the patrol was waiting for the chance to explain to Poppystar what had happened. Nightwing, however, had slunk away. She had sat opposite Poppystar at first, huddled over Swiftcreek in much the same way as the leader, so that for a while, the two she-cats had mirrored each other over the dead deputy. Stormpaw had then watched Nightwing stand with a bizarre and burning look of anger towards Poppystar that the leader did not seem to notice, before turning and slowly trudging out of the camp.

Poppystar finally stirred, as though coming out of a trance. "I will speak to every cat that was a part of the battle now," She announced.

"Poppystar," Foxpaw said tentatively, anxious to address the leader, "I think Nightwing is off somewhere, should I-"

"No!" Poppystar replied sharply, making Foxpaw quail. "No," She amended. "It doesn't matter. I will hear what you all have to say now."

Stormpaw, Foxpaw, Applepaw, Ashstorm, and Russetclaw followed her into the leader's den.

Ashstorm, Foxpaw, and Russetclaw each relayed their different angles of the story to Poppystar, filling in each other's gaps while Stormpaw occasionally nodded his consent. Applepaw, normally too shy to speak voluntarily in groups, remained silent. Foxpaw explained how he had scented ShadowClan across the border, and how they had caught them seemingly hunting ThunderClan prey. Stormpaw's pelt bristled in fury.

"Swiftcreek was fighting with a ShadowClan tom," Russetclaw concluded in a growl, "And I chased after them, but didn't get there fast enough. I caught up just in time to see the piece of fox-dung tear out Swiftcreek's throat."

Poppystar hung her head once more. "If that's all, thank you," She murmured, dismissing them.

Sometime later, Poppystar emerged from her den and called the clan to gather. Most had not wandered far.

"Cats of ThunderClan, Swiftcreek has been killed. He died a warrior's death, killed in a battle defending our borders." Poppystar's eyes were fixed upwards. "I say these words before the body of Swiftcreek, so that his spirit may hear and approve my choice. Cedartail will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."

* * *

Later that night found Stormpaw gathered outside the medicine cat den with Foxpaw, Applepaw, and Smokepaw. It reminded Stormpaw of the days in the nursery; the three others were kin, and while they had welcomed him in as a littermate when he joined the clan, there was simply something about his lack of blood connection that still made Stormpaw feel slightly left out.

"I can't believe Swiftcreek is gone," Smokepaw, who had just finished re-treating Pebblestep's wound, whispered softly. Poppystar as leader and Swiftcreek as deputy was all the apprentices had ever known in their lives; for the structure to change was a huge upheaval.

"Yeah," murmured Foxpaw. "I can't believe some stinking ShadowClan cat got him. I bet it was a trick somehow. Hey, Appleplaw, Russetclaw's your mentor, isn't he? You should ask him about it."

Applepaw just shuffled her paws, but Stormpaw suddenly recalled something Ashstorm had said earlier. _"Bold words for someone who isn't pure ThunderClan himself!"_

Before he had the chance to mention it, however, Sparrowpaw waltzed over. "Cedartail will do well, though, I'm sure. He's a wonderful warrior," She said in her matter-of-fact way.

"Cedartail's a bit too old for you, don't you think?" Stormpaw muttered, feeling a bit annoyed that the normally snobby apprentice had interrupted.

"Don't be silly," Foxpaw cut in, grinning, "Everyone knows Sparrowpaw would pad after whatever walks in front of her with four paws and a tail."

"Ex_cuse_ me?"

"Fine, any tom, then."

Sparrowpaw turned up her nose and sniffed, "I can't help that I'm interested in someone more mature than a newborn kit."

"Who are you calling a kit?"

Stormpaw rolled his eyes at his friend, and quietly excused himself for an early sleep, not feeling up for such a jesting atmosphere. He knew part of Foxpaw's teasing was defensive; he had been not-so-subtly trying to impress Sparrowpaw since they had been kits.

* * *

Stormpaw awoke first out of the apprentices, just as the sun was rising. He stretched and quietly slipped from the den, to immediately be approached by Cedartail. The golden tom seemed to glow in the early morning light.

"Stormpaw, I'm glad you're awake. Would you mind going on dawn patrol? I didn't get a chance to organize the patrols properly last night. Batears, Nightfur, and Rabbitstep are the other two. I would go as well, but I need to stay and organize the rest of the patrols. Oh, Smokepaw will be going with you to collect some herbs near the border."

"Of course, I'll join them right away." Stormpaw said, and received a warm, grateful smile in return. He hurried off to join the four cats already waiting to depart.

Nightfur swiftly trotted to the head of the group, leading the procession towards the ShadowClan border first, as was to be expected. Naturally it would be receiving extra attention.

On the way out of camp, they passed Icestorm, whose striking blue eyes had been peeled all night as the guard. She nodded her head as she passed, murmuring, "Keep an eye out for Nightwing. She ran out last night, and hasn't come back… But I think she's trying to deal with… You know…"

Stormpaw wondered why Nightwing had been so particularly affected by ThunderClan's tragedy, but then had to scramble to keep up with the fast moving patrol. He fell into step beside Smokepaw, enjoying the quiet apprentice's agreeable silence.

As they were approaching the ShadowClan border, a sudden rustling in the bushes to Stormpaw's left made him jump. Russetclaw emerged, a dead mouse dangling from his jaws. He looked tired; his head drooped slightly, his eyes were glazed.

"Oh, Russetclaw!" Batears crooned. "You must be so tired, but you still went hunting! You deserve some rest," She positively gushed, gazing reverently at the reddish warrior. Stormpaw made meaningful eye contact with Smokepaw and almost choked on his laughter.

Russetclaw merely flicked his ear in acknowledgement, before continuing on.

"He should have been deputy," Batears murmured wistfully, a dreamy look on her face.

Nightfur's ears flicked in annoyance. "That's hardly up to you. Can we keep moving, please?"

Nothing had changed since yesterday on the ShadowClan border. The warriors refreshed the border carefully, making sure all the trespassers'' scents were stale. Smokepaw spotted one of the herbs he needed, and began carefully digging up the roots. Stormpaw wandered over to help.

When Stormpaw asked, Smokepaw explained, though never ceased his diligent work, "I'm getting burdock root. I'll have to wash it, and take it back to Willowpool to make it a pulp."

Stormpaw nodded, attempting to look interested. No, the medicine cat life was not for him, but he would not deprive Smokepaw the chance to share the knowledge that had to be so carefully learned and applied. It was kind of like learning a new battle technique, Stormpaw decided.

The patrol moved on, heading towards the lake at the center of all the territories. Stormpaw's nose twitched as a bizarre, rancid scent wafted by. He opened his mouth to taste the air an instant before Nightfur halted, just as they reached a small hill overlooking the sparkling lake's water.

"Yuerg!" Batears said a second later, her lips curling back in disgust. "What is that, crowfood?"

"Yes… No…" Rabbitstep muttered, looking unnerved by the thing in front of them. It was certainly crowfood, but not the normal type. Three dead rabbits lay before them, their entrails and limbs strewn about. Gnaw marks littered the body, and it looked as though they had been tossed around quite a bit. As though something had been _playing_ with the dead things.

"What in StarClan did this?" Rabbitstep muttered.

Stormpaw glanced at Smokepaw, who looked scared. Trying to sound casual, he asked quietly, "Has StarClan spoken about this to you?"

Smokepaw only shook his head.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Here's Chapter 4... Please read, enjoy, and review!

**Chapter 4**

Stormpaw held his breath, hardly daring to move a muscle. The mouse in front of him continued to blissfully scuffle at the ground, while he silently prepared for his leap.

A squawk sounded from a nearby clearing and a trio of black birds suddenly took off into the air, flapping and cawing noisily. "_Mouse dung_!" Foxpaw shouted after them.

The mouse darted away from the ruckus, fortunately for Stormpaw, in his direction. He quickly scooted to his left to cut his prey off, pinning it and dispatching of it with one swift bite to its neck and a silent thanks to StarClan for his luck.

"Foxpaw, you mouse-brain!" Stormpaw meowed, padding over to find his friend looking ruffled, as he had dived into a bush in the attempts of snagging just one of the birds.

"You probably just scared away half the prey in the forest," Pebblestep chided, though he couldn't keep the amusement from his face. His movements were careful, the newly healed wound across his chest still tender, even though a week had passed since the fight over the ShadowClan border.

Foxpaw grinned sheepishly. "At least you still got your mouse," He pointed out optimistically to Stormpaw.

Ashstorm emerged from a shuddering fern. "Come on, it's time to get back. We need to get ready for the Gathering."

Stormpaw leaped to attention, wondering how he could have forgotten. Tonight he was going to his first Gathering!

"Take a lap around the camp and then pick up your fresh-kill. I'll take the mouse back. We'll meet you back there!" Ashstorm instructed, obviously hoping to relieve the toms of some pent up energy before the large, inter-clan gathering.

Both apprentices raced off. Ducking and weaving roots and undergrowth, the two toms strained their muscles to go their fastest. Stormpaw found himself too anxious to let himself be lost in the joy of a good lope. Foxpaw pulled ahead with his long, graceful strides, and Stormpaw's competitive spirit drove him to strain harder, trying to at least keep up with the ginger tom, whose long limbs had earned him a reputation for one of the fastest cats in the clan. But Foxpaw simply seemed to fly across the ground, and finished a good few fox-lengths ahead of Stormpaw. Panting but content and excited, the two apprentices murmured acknowledgements of a good run, scrambled to fetch the prey they had each buried earlier, and brought it back to the camp to proudly deposit it on the fresh-kill pile.

* * *

The full moon shone brightly overhead as the line of ThunderClan cats streamed over a ridge, led by the determined looking Poppystar. Stormpaw had reined in his overflowing enthusiasm as he remembered the gravity of this gathering. It would be the first since Shadowclan's intrusion on ThunderClan territory; Stormpaw was intensely curious to see what Poppystar would say.

Stormpaw padded along in a tense silence with Foxpaw at his side. On his other side gleamed the lake, the smooth surface like a mirror for the glistening Silverpelt. They had kept close to the lake all through WindClan territory, and now through the unfamiliar dwelling of RiverClan.

Ashstorm pulled up beside the two apprentices. "There's the island," She meowed, looking ahead towards the dark mass of trees, a looming shadow interrupting lake's glittery surface. ThunderClan swiftly approached the log bridging the gap between the mainland an the peace-shrouded island.

Foxpaw quivered with excitement. "Come on!" He said, beginning to speed up to reach the Gathering more quickly. Stormpaw surged forward as well, when something suddenly tripped him and sent him sprawling.

Sparrowpaw sneered down at him as, embarrassed and angry, he leaped to his paws. "Hold on there… Let actual _Clan_ cats go first."

Bristling at the unexpected jibe, Stormpaw made a point of shoving past the brown tabby she-cat as the ThunderClan cats began to line up before the log. Sparrowpaw's ears shot back against her head, and she hissed indignantly at Stormpaw as he tried to pass.

"You two are acting like kits!" Ashstorm snapped under her breath.

Stormpaw hung his head, abashed, but that didn't stop his boiling anger. Foxpaw jumped onto the horizontal tree trunk, wobbling only slightly, and quickly crossed with the encouragement of Cedartail waiting at the other side.

The two feuding apprentices were up next, but Stormpaw and Sparrowpaw still hadn't determined who would be going first. A normally insignificant dilemma – but it had been overblown into a matter of pride and stubbornness with both parties.

Still set on going ahead of Sparrowpaw despite his mentor's rebuke, Stormpaw crouched and prepared to spring, jumping onto the edge of the log at the same instant that Sparrowpaw landed.

Both apprentices balanced precariously, as the log was not wide enough for two cats to stand side by side.

"Be careful!" Cedartail warned, looking alarmed.

"Move, stupid rogue!" Sparrowpaw hissed, pushing ahead.

Stormpaw had no time for a rebuttal or reaction as his paws slipped on the bark worn smooth by generations of warriors using it as a passage to the Gatherings. Sparrowpaw glanced over her shoulder and gasped along with cats on both shores, and someone shouted, "Stormpaw!", as Stormpaw pitched off the side of the tree trunk with a yowl and splashed into the glassy lake, shattering the once-pristine reflection of the stars in the clear sky.

* * *

Dark, cold water pressed in on Stormpaw from all sides. It flowed into his open mouth and up his nose as he flailed desperately, paws churning sluggishly. Just as his lungs felt like they were going to explode, his head broke the surface of the water and he gulped in great, glorious breaths of air, fighting to keep his head above water.

"Stormpaw! Keep paddling!" Cedartail cried urgently from the tree trunk. Sparrowpaw had been ushered across, and now Ashstorm and Cedartail crouched on the log, leaning over and wanting sorely to help the half-drowned apprentice. Most ThunderClan cats gathered on both sides of the log watched anxiously, though some sat back with indifference, even one or two with a humored smirk. Foxpaw and Applepaw, who had crossed after Cedartail, kneaded the ground anxiously with their paws. "Look!"

Swimming towards Stormpaw with confident, strong strokes was a big brown tabby tom, his long fur rippling in the water. "Come on," He said gruffly, beginning to nudge Stormpaw towards the island shore. In a feeble attempt to retain any dignity that he had left, Stormpaw tried to do as much of the swimming as possible, insisting he didn't need help.

Shivering, wet, and most of all, humiliated, Stormpaw hauled himself onto the land, followed by the fluffy brown warrior. The water seemed to bead and slide right off of his sleek fur – he had to be from RiverClan.

"Thank you, Reedpad," Poppystar meowed she approached from behind the bedraggled Stormpaw.

"Of course," Reedpad replied, "RiverClan would not let such a helpless cat drown."

Stormpaw burned with embarrassment and exercised every ounce of his self control to keep silent.

Poppystar glanced down at Stormpaw, "Try to stay dry the rest of the Gathering," She murmured, her eyes stony, before padding off.

"Stormpaw!" Foxpaw, trailed closely by Applepaw, dashed over.

"Are you alright?" Foxpaw's sister meowed quietly, her big green eyes shining with concern.

"Fine," Stormpaw muttered, not wanting to talk about it. He saw Russetclaw stalk by, smirking, followed by Batears, who laughed blatantly in his direction.

"You mouse brain!" Ashstorm huffed angrily. "What happened? Why were you fighting like a kit?"

"Sparrowpaw was calling me a rogue!" Stormpaw cried indignantly.

Exhasperated, Ashstorm responded, "So? There are better ways to resolve that than bickering for all the Clans to see! But if you want, I will talk to Silentwing."

"No!" Stormpaw said hastily. "I don't need to be defended. I can take care of myself." He didn't want Ashstorm fighting his battles for him.

His mentor nodded. "But still, that doesn't excuse such kit-like behavior. You can clean out the nursery tomorrow, so you can remember what it's like to be one."

Stormpaw groaned once Ashstorm had padded away. "Bad luck," Foxpaw said sympathetically.

"Sparrowpaw probably won't have to do anything…" Stormpaw sighed. Ashstorm desperately wanted to prove she was a capable mentor; harsh punishment seemed her method of doing so tonight.

"Don't worry about it now," Foxpaw said diplomatically. "Come on, it's the Gathering! Let's go meet the other apprentices!"

Stormpaw nodded, some of his excitement returning. He wished he could see the other Clans with dry fur, though.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N**: Interest in this story seems to be wavering, which I guess is a bit disappointing. I enjoy writing it; is it worth it to continue? Please give me feedback.

**Chapter 5**

Snickers and whispers seemed to follow Stormpaw as he padded through the clearing with Foxpaw and Applepaw, overwhelmed by the sheer number of foreign cats. In his awe, he was almost able to forget about his sopping pelt.

The trio passed Smokepaw talking animatedly with an exhuberant, mostly black tortoiseshell she-cat. "Hi, Smokepaw," Stormpaw murmured as they passed the medicine cat apprentice. The white and gray patched tom jumped.

"Oh, hi!" He said, startled, and looking almost embarrassed before it turned to excitement. "This is Frogpaw. She's the ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice. Isn't that great?"

"Hi, Frogpaw," Foxpaw meowed. "I'm Foxpaw, this is Applepaw, and this is Stormpaw."

"Nice to meet you. Come on, Smokepaw! Mosspaw's here with Specklenose, from RiverClan!" Frogpaw had leaped almost vertically into the air, landing on the ground with her paws already churning. "Bye!" She called over her shoulder to the warrior apprentices as she scampered off.

Smokepaw smiled sheepishly before hurrying to catch up to Frogpaw as she headed off to meet up with the other Clan's medicine cats. He would have already met them at the ritual meeting of medicine cats at the Moonpool every half-moon.

"Looks like ThunderClan's training their apprentices to be fish."

An amused voice said from behind them.

"Oh, _haha_," Foxpaw replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes, before he turned around and realized it was a rather burly looking dark brown tom, and gulped. Stormpaw identified his scent as WindClan.

"I seem to remember a certain apprentice struggling over that log in _his_ time, Barkpelt," Nightfur said warningly as he suddenly appeared behind Stormpaw. Rabbitstep, his mate, lingered behind him, scowling. The silver apprentice felt a warmth tingle through his whiskers, but indignation as well. He could take care of himself!

Barkpelt bristled, and looked about ready to spit out a retort, but only glowered and shuffled off.

Once he had disappeared, Nightfur turned to Stormpaw. "Can't have the other Clans thinking we don't defend our own, right?"

"Even if they aren't really part of the clan," Rabbitstep muttered, perhaps a little more loudly than she had intended, because she winced when Nightfur glared at her over her shoulder.

"Go meet some other apprentices, and remember to represent our clan well." Nightfur told Stormpaw, Foxpaw, and Applepaw, before he and Rabbitstep trotted off together, talking intensely with their heads close together.

"What has gotten into everyone?" Stormpaw spat.

"What do you mean, Stormpaw?" Applepaw asked, green eyes round with concern.

"First Sparrowpaw, and now Rabbitstep? And I know they aren't the only ones who have an issue with… with where I come from. But why? And why's it suddenly such a problem now?"

Foxpaw and Applepaw glanced at each other. "Well, some cats have been talking lately…" Foxpaw began hesitantly.

"Who?" Stormpaw demanded.

Applepaw explained, "I've heard some talk, on patrols and things. You already know how Russetclaw feels, and Batears would agree with anything he said. Sometimes the elders grumble about the clan being 'pure' back in their day. And sometimes Rabbitestep joins in, and Sparrowpaw is her daughter, afterall…"

Stormpaw just sighed. "At least Nightfur hasn't caught on. Yet," He added gloomily.

"Hey! Look!" Foxpaw had spotted another small gathering of apprentices ahead. He unconsciously swiped an unruly patch of fur on his chest with his tongue.

Stormpaw glanced ahead and groaned to himself when he realized it was Sparrowpaw. She was chatting casually to two sleek-furred toms, and was obviously pulling out all the stops to impress a handsome golden tabby. She smiled endearingly and whisked her plume-like tail about carefully.

Foxpaw tried to walk by casually, but his real intentions were painfully obvious. Sparrowpaw played along.

"Oh, hello there, Foxpaw. This is Rainpaw," She said, sweeping her tail around to point at one apprentice, a gray and black spotted tom, and then at the golden tabby as she continued with a bit more gusto, "And this is Brackenpaw. Both are from RiverClan."

Stormpaw grunted a farewell, but Foxpaw ignored the two toms and said to Sparrowpaw, "You're getting a bit friendly with _enemies_, don't you think?"

"Mouse-brain, RiverClan and ThunderClan get along just fine right now! Besides, I can't help it if I need to talk to toms with more maturity than newborn kits every now and then," Sparrowpaw's tone had started with a warning edge to it, but smoothed out to her flirtatious teasing once more.

Stormpaw, though, was perturbed. "A warrior should be more concerned with loyalty to the clan than a night's entertainment, shouldn't he?"

"The Gatherings are _peaceful!_ And don't you tell me about being a warrior, you rogue-kit!"

"Please!" Applepaw gasped, shoving herself between the two apprentices that seemed to be ready to spring at each other. In truth, Stormpaw had unsheathed his claws, pricking the earth. "The Gatherings _are _times of peace, especially to one's own clan!" She continued imploringly.

Stormpaw whirled around and stalked off, fuming. "I don't know what you see in her," He muttered angrily to Foxpaw when his friend caught up.

"She's not so bad, Stormpaw… Hey!"

The ginger apprentice had spotted someone else. Stormpaw's pelt bristled, recognizing the dark gray ShadowClan apprentice as the one they had driven off from ThunderClan territory. He was with a brindle and white patched she-cat, and recognized them, too.

"How are your wounds healing?" He jeered.

"Better than yours!" Foxpaw spat back.

The she-cat whisked her tail over the dark gray apprentice's mouth. "We're trying to make friends, remember?" She said pointedly, and continued without pausing, "Sorry about my brother. He can be such a mouse-brain sometimes. Anyway, I'm Rookpaw, and this is Graypaw. We're both pleased to meet you." All this the she-cat said quickly, without stopping for breath.

"She's right! I'm glad someone has a good head on their shoulders." Ashstorm had approached once more. Rookpaw beamed at the praise. "The gathering is going to start soon, so say goodbye-"

Even as she said it, Poppystar's yowl cut through the cool, clear night air, summoning all the cats from the four clans to assemble around the low hanging branch where the leaders perched. Stormpaw blinked, momentarily forgetting his personal rivalries, and hurried over with the others to listen. What was Poppystar going to say?

**A/N:** The next chapter will have the actual gathering in it. Please review!


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Coming up with different cats is so fun. Enjoy the Gathering! Feedback would be lovely. :)

**Chapter 6**

Poppystar sat on the low hanging branch next to the three other clan leaders, bathed in moonlight. Stormpaw and the other three ThunderClan cats separated from the two ShadowClan apprentices, Rookpaw and Graypaw, to sit in a small group on their own to listen.

"She looks pretty calm, doesn't she?" Foxpaw said.

"Of course she does," Ashstorm murmured. "Leaders don't go picking fights at Gatherings. Don't expect too much."

Stormpaw didn't really like the sound of that – he wanted ShadowClan to know ThunderClan would not tolerate trespassers.

Poppystar turned calmly to the wiry cat sitting next to her, a pale brown tom with darker, dappled markings. "Spottedstar, how is WindClan?" she prompted.

"Everything is fine on the moors. The rabbits are prospering this green-leaf, and so have we. Snowbelly recently gave birth to a litter of kits. And ThunderClan?"

Stormpaw supposed his clan really wasn't thriving, per say; it had been a while since there had been a queen in the nursery, and there really weren't that many apprentices. Sparrowpaw had been alone for a short period before he and his adopted litter joined her. _But we're healthy and strong!_ Stormpaw asserted mentally. _As long as the other clans know not to mess with us._

"ThunderClan has suffered a grievous loss – Swiftcreek was killed in a fight over the ShadowClan border." There was a swath of sympathetic murmuring. "Cedartail has succeeded him as deputy. The Clan, however, is strong, and we will not be tolerating any trespassing or stealing of our prey. Our borders will continue to be guarded," Poppystar had fixed her green-eyed stare on the black tom sitting on the opposite end of the leaders' branch. He looked almost completely indifferent.

"That's right, so keep off our territory, ShadowClan!" The ThunderClan warrior Brownleaf yowled.

"Silence!" Poppystar shouted over the responding hisses of anger from ShadowClan. "Peace! Leafstar, does RiverClan have anything to report?"

A regal looking, long-haired brown-brindle tom with a white chest answered, "No, things have been calm, aside from our new warriors, Minnowleap and Mossfoot."

Stormpaw glanced over the crowd and spotted a group of cats congratulating a small gray she-cat and a fluffy brown tom.

"Also, I am very sorry to hear of Swiftcreek's passing. May he have good hunting in StarClan."

"Thank you," Poppystar murmured.

A brief moment of silent passed in honor of the lost deputy, in which many cats' heads tilted upwards. Stormpaw could have sworn he saw a star twinkling brightly in the Silverpelt.

"Crowstar?" Spottedstar finally prompted.

"ShadowClan is thriving," The mangy black tom said in a low growl. "So much, in fact, that prey may even begin to run short..." His eyes seemed to glow mockingly as he gave his report, to the dismay of many other cats.

"Make sure you don't go looking for more in RiverClan!" Stormpaw heard who he thought was Reedpad, who had helped him from the lake, yowl.

"We don't like stinking fish!" Barkpelt called back.

Stormpaw angrily kneaded the ground with his paws, wondering if Crowstar had meant his announcement to carry a veiled warning to ThunderClan. _Just let them try!_

Angry taunts and caterwauls began flying back and forth between the clans. Stormpaw thought he saw the flash of someone's unsheathed claws, and Applepaw gasped beside him. "The truce!" She fretted.

Poppystar and Leafpaw stood up in dismay yowled for silence once more, hers high and his low pitched. "Look at the sky! We've angered StarClan!" Leafstar cried. Countless pairs of wide cat eyes suddenly turned upwards, reflecting the clouds that had begun to scud in front of the full moon, darkening the Gathering.

"Looks like this one's over," Ashstorm muttered to herself.

"Come on, ThunderClan!" Stormpaw heard Cedartail call from the other side of the clearing, gathering the Clan to prepare to return to camp. He and the others got up to leave.

"Bye!" Rookpaw meowed breathlessly as she hurried away. Applepaw smiled and waved her tail in a merry farewell to the white and brindle apprentice, but Stormpaw just grunted. He wasn't so comfortable being friendly with anyone from ShadowClan.

Soon they had crossed the log and were back on the mainland, skirting the lake back home. Stormpaw's steps were weary, and nothing sounded more appealing than the cozy apprentices' den. Foxpaw bounded up beside him, remarkably with a spring in his gait.

"ShadowClan's up to something! I'd bet my whiskers on it."

"I bet they are," Stormpaw admitted. "All the clans seemed kind of tense."

"Wouldn't it be great to stop them? And shove it in that stupid Graypaw's face!"

Stormpaw nodded vigorously.

"Just think about it. No one would say any of that stupid rogue stuff to you ever again!"

"You think so?" Stormpaw pondered as he walked, hardly watching where he went. Maybe Foxpaw was right… Stormpaw knew he was going to have to try extra hard to prove to the doubters that he would be just as good a warrior as anyone. Better, even. But maybe that wouldn't be enough. Maybe it would take something truly spectacular, that even the most mouse-brained cat couldn't ignore. But what could he do?

"I should talk to Smokepaw," Foxpaw was musing. "He always seems to know stuff."

"What are you two whispering about?" Sparrowpaw suddenly said accusingly.

"None of your business!" Stormpaw snapped more harshly than he had intended.

Foxpaw could not hide his disappointment as she strutted to the front of the line to gossip with Applepaw.

"Do you really like her?" demanded Stormpaw.

"Well, I mean, she's… Got a nice tail…" Foxpaw mumbled, suddenly very fascinated with his paws. Sighing, Stormpaw tried not to hold it against his friend. He just wished that Sparrowpaw didn't have to be such a pain in the tail.

The line of ThunderClan cats had finally crossed into their territory once more when Poppystar stopped suddenly. Ashstorm haulted so abruptly that Stormpaw almost walked head on into her tail. He wrinkled his nose as he caught a familiar but sickening scent, and crowded around with the rest of the cats.

Before them was another mangled rabbit corpse, this time half buried in the earth. The stench was overwhelming.

"What could be doing this?" Brownleaf murmured, looking upwards once more.

As the cats moved on, Stormpaw could not help but get the prickling feeling that more than one dark threat loomed in the ThunderClan forest. Silverpelt sparkled brightly above them, and Stormpaw could not help thinking to himself, _But I'm going to show everyone I can be the best warrior ThunderClan has ever seen. I'll protect the clan._


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N**: Thanks very much to those who review (especially Snowfeather5 - thanks for your dedication!). I'm pretty happy with this chapter, I hope you like it, too. I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow and so, unfortunately, probably won't be able to update for around two weeks. Hopefully this extra long chapter will make up for that. Please let me know what you think!

**Chapter 7**

Just a few weeks after the Gathering, as though she had taken heed of ThunderClan's smaller size relative to the other clans, Rabbitstep entered the nursery. It was common knowledge that Nightfur was the father. Their litter would be Sparrowpaw's younger siblings.

Shortly after, Pinefrost became a queen as well. Willowpool kept Smokepaw preoccupied with the two new mother-to-bes, wanting to make sure they had healthy pregnancies. Poppystar, too, seemed to take a special interest. She and Cedartail could be seen often chatting with one of the queens, medicine cat, or other curious warrior in front of the nursery.

It was an overcast day when Stormpaw found himself with a length of brambles carefully clamped in his jaws to be woven into the nursery for reinforcement. Smokepaw had stopped to give him a paw on his way out from a routine check on the queens, carefully guiding the spiky tendril into place.

Once the job was finished, Stormpaw thanked the medicine cat apprentice. He turned to go, but then as a thought flickered across his mind, he called, "Hey, Smokepaw! Let me know if you ever want some company collecting herbs." Foxpaw's musing about asking Smokepaw about ShadowClan had made Stormpaw curious about what he knew. Besides, Smokepaw could often be seen going out alone when an escort wasn't assigned. It must be a bit lonesome.

Smokepaw looked taken aback, but nodded with a hesitant smile, before continuing back to the medicine cat den.

"Stormpaw!"

Cedartail trotted across the clearing. "The elders' den needs fresh moss, could you go get some for them?"

Stormpaw glanced across the clearing and saw Snowfoot basking in front of the elders' den, though even as he watched she glanced at the sky and headed for shelter. He nodded, feeling a tingle in his whiskers that hinted rain, and decided to hurry.

As he trotted briskly through the forest, he kept his senses on alert. Something didn't feel quite right; he sensed a sort of electricity in the air that he did not think was part of the coming rain. A drop of rain bounced off of the tip of his nose in the beginnings of a misty drizzle.

There was a clump of springy looking moss at the base of a soaring tree, and he quickly went about collecting some, when he heard the scrabbling of a mouse to his left. After only a moment's hesitation, he dropped into a hunter's crouch and followed his ears. If the elders complained about him dallying, he could always give them a nice piece of fresh-kill.

With careful, creeping paw steps Stormpaw advanced, trying his best to keep his rear low and to ignore the mist. The mouse was foraging at the base of a fern, the leaves of which were tipped in little beads of water that sparkled through shafts of dim light filtering through the trees. With the burst of intense anticipation and excitement in the seconds before the pounce, Stormpaw bunched his haunches, and sprang.

Unfortunately, the mouse decided to return to its den the instant before Stormpaw's leap, and disappeared into a nearby hole in the ground just as he landed softly on the dampened dirt, with empty pads. He hissed quietly out of frustration. It was probably oblivious to the fact that it had narrowly escaped death.

"What was that?"

Stormpaw started at the sharp and demanding voice of Russetclaw and, on some unexplainable instinct, dove into the fern, making the leaves shiver and the clinging water droplets fly off.

"What was what?"

Batears replied, glancing curiously around.

Stormpaw held his breath as Russetclaw looked around, scowling. The mist in the air seemed to dampen the smells of the forest, including the silvery apprentice. The two warriors standing in the nearby clearing had their backs to the shuddering fern nearby, and Russetclaw only turned after the leaves had settled. _Thank StarClan_, he thought, unsure why he was hiding. They were his clanmates, after all.

"Nothing," Russetclaw muttered, and then continued in a would-be casual voice, "Anyway, don't you want to get out of the rain?"

"Don't _you_?" Batears countered.

Russetclaw's tail lashed in annoyance, which was odd; while Stormpaw normally found the she-cat obnoxious, Russetclaw had always seemed to be fond of, or at least tolerate, her.

"I needed to stretch," The reddish warrior growled, a hint of warning in his voice.

Batears either didn't pick it up or ignored it. "You go out on your own a lot. Is everything… okay?"

"Of course it is."

"But… But I've seen you go towards ShadowClan more than once since the fight! Are you expecting them to attack again?"

"It's a likely possibility, Batears." Stormpaw resisted the urge to gasp loudly.

"Do you think you can stop them alone, Russetclaw?" Batears' tone was desperate, almost pleading. She seemed to be genuinely concerned for the tom's well-being, but just her normal, nosy self. "You should just volunteer for more patrols, go out with more cats, or something, but not something mouse-brained, not-"

"It's not like that, Batears."

"Then what _is_ it like?"

"You can't know! I can't tell you," Russetclaw snarled, though when Batears flinched as though he had raked his claws across her nose, he hastily added, "Not yet, not now."

"When?"

"I don't know, Batears. But you have to keep quiet about this. I… I don't want any of the clan to worry unnecessarily."

"I'll do anything for you, Russetclaw."

The tom's harsh expression softened slightly. "Why don't you get back to camp? We're soaked."

Batears recognized that she would not be getting any more answers at the moment. Drooping slightly, she began to pad away back in the direction of the camp, but turned before she had gotten far she turned and meowed with some difficulty, as though sentimentality wasn't her thing, "I think you're a really great warrior, Russetclaw. Don't get in over your head, or anything…" She hesitated a moment more, as though hoping he would change his mind and explain what he was doing, but when he didn't she turned and left.

Russetclaw remained standing in the clearing, staring after Batears. Stormpaw couldn't read his expression, but realized that the rain was picking up from a light misting to a steady drizzle. His muscles were cramped, and he wanted desperately to get back to camp. _The elders!_ He groaned inwardly, not looking forward to finally getting them the moss, now that he had taken so long. But even worse was the prospect of letting Russetclaw know he had eavesdropped on his bizarre exchange with Batears.

The reddish tom suddenly whirled and lunged at the fern Stormplaw had been hiding under. The silvery apprentice gasped and lurched backwards, barely tumbling out of reach of Russetclaw's reaching claws. Looming above him with his teeth bared, the warrior suddenly looked very imposing.

"What are you doing, sneaking around?" He spat.

"Hunting," Stormpaw retorted indignantly, rising to his paws and regaining his composure and dignity. It was pretty much the truth. He was unnerved by the anger smoldering in Russetclaw's eyes; the tom continued to advance.

"Stormpaw?"

Russetclaw froze and his head snapped up as Applepaw emerged in the clearing looking relieved to see him.

"In the rain? Are you completely mouse-brained?" Russetclaw finally meowed.

"I thought I could get some more fresh-kill for the elders. Besides, you're out, too."

Russetclaw's lips curled back over his fangs. "Apprentices should speak to warriors with more respect. But then again, rogues aren't exactly known for their manners. Get back to camp, both of you."

Applepaw winced only slightly at the harshly issued command from her mentor, suggesting she was used to being ordered about. Stormpaw did not need to be told twice; he turned and forced himself to walk calmly towards his fellow apprentice, trying not to show how eager he was to get away. He could feel Russetclaw's cold gaze boring into his back until the apprentices disappeared into the undergrowth.

"What kept you?" Applepaw meowed curiously after a moment's silence. "Cedartail said he sent you out to get moss for the elders, but you were taking longer than usual…"

"Sorry," Stormpaw muttered, regretting that Applepaw had had to venture out into the rain to find him. Her cream-colored pelt clung wetly to her body, and her three white and one ginger paw were covered in muck from the moistened ground. "I was getting the moss, but then I heard Russetclaw and Batears talking. I'll tell you and Foxpaw about it later, okay?"

The two apprentices hurried back to Stormpaw's cache of moss, and rummaged around a bit more to find the bits that weren't so wet. Once they were back in the camp, Stormpaw murmured, "I'll take it from here, the elders probably won't be very happy. Thanks for your help."

Fresh moss clutched in his jaws, Stormpaw hurried to the elders' den. All three had headed inside to avoid the rain. Just outside the entrance he heard voices.

"My legs are aching! Where is that apprentice?" Maplelegs, the stocky, reddish-brown tom with ringed legs was complaining.

"It's that rogue-kit one, isn't it?" Voletuft meowed in reply. She was the oldest cat in the clan, with a notoriously grumpy mood. "No wonder he can't get something so simple right."

"Now, now, Voletuft," Came the soothing, good-natured voice of Snowfoot. She was beloved by the younger clan members as a kindly cat and excellent storyteller. "Stormpaw is a very nice young tom. Besides, we can see in our own clan that it doesn't matter what parents a cat has. Remember the great Firestar? And look at Russetclaw or Nightfur, two of the best warriors in the clan."

Voletuft just grumbled, but Stormpaw was so struck by the piece of news that he almost forgot why he was there in the first place, hovering outside the elders' den with his whiskers dripping. But then he quickly darted inside to change the bedding.

"It's about time," Voletuft grunted.

"Thank you very much," Snowfoot murmured sweetly from her corner, where she was lying with her paws tucked daintily under her chest. With a sweet of her white, plume-like tail, she rose and helped Stormpaw change the three sets of bedding.

Once the task was finished, Stormpaw dawdled. "Snowfoot," he meowed finally, "Do you think you could tell me about, er, some clan history?"

Snowfoot blinked, but looked pleased. The other two elders had settled down to listen, as well. "Of course. What did you want to know?"

"Actually, I was wondering about Russetclaw," Stormpaw admitted, and then scrambled for some justification for his nosiness. "I've just heard some odd, different things about him, and I wanted to know… I mean, was he born in ThunderClan?"

The old white she-cat frowned slightly. "No, he wasn't. I suppose he's not very proud of it, but it's no secret… I remember when he joined us, I was still a warrior. No, Russetclaw was born in ShadowClan."

Stormpaw tried to hide his surprise, but his eyes still widened. Just as he opened his mouth to ask one of the questions that had suddenly flooded his brain, Ashstorm called him from outside.

He was almost ready to ignore his mentor for the sake of quenching his suddenly ravenous curiosity, but thought better of it when Snowfoot gave him an expectant look, and Voletuft a disparaging one. Meowing a hasty good-bye and thank you, he dashed out to meet Ashstorm in the middle of the camp. The rain had let up

"Stormpaw!" She meowed. "Where have you been? Cedartail said he sent you out to get moss for the elders ages ago."

"Sorry, Ashstorm. I just brought it in."

"That should have been your first priority. Since you seem to have dawdled enough in the forest one day, it's time for some battle practice. It'll be good to get some training in wet conditions in."

Stormpaw nodded, trying to look excited about battle training like he usually was for training. But all he really wanted was to find out about Russetclaw's mysterious heritage. He remembered suddenly that Ashstorm knew.

"Ashstorm, wait," He called, sprinting after his mentor as she led them out of the camp. "Remember a while ago when you said something to Russetclaw about him not being pure ThunderClan?"

Ashstorm looked uncomfortable. "Yes."

"What did you mean?"

Ashstorm sighed. "It's sort of a long story, Stormpaw, and I'm sure Russetclaw doesn't appreciate it being told avidly…" She was glancing around as they approached the training hollow, as though Russetclaw, who could potentially be there with Applepaw, might hear.

"But-"

"No buts. We're going to have a good training session, and then _maybe_ we'll talk about it."

Stormpaw nodded, swallowing any protests. He did his best to clear his mind and focus on fighting, which wasn't difficult once the motions began, slightly sloppy at first due to the slippery ground. He soon got used to the mud, and adapted to the sliding, even using the momentum gained from slipping along to barrel into his mentor. As he practiced a leap-and-roll defensive move, his muddled mind seemed to clear, and when Foxpaw and Pebblestep joined them at the training hollow, he was reveling in the exercises.

As the sun cruised across the sky, the clouds slowly dissipated. By sunset, the dramatic reds and purples of the sky were clearly visible while the burning pink sun dropped below glowing, gold-lined mountains of clouds far on the horizon. Four exhausted cats trekked back into camp, thankful for the replenished fresh-kill pile, thanks to the hunting patrols of that day.

Stormpaw tore hungrily into a squirrel and remembered his revelations from earlier. Too many cats were around to talk, including Russetclaw, returning from hunting with Applepaw, Silentwing and Sparrowpaw. He could not wait to get back to the apprentices' den to share and discuss with his friends what he had discovered.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N**: I'm back from vacation! It was fabulous and relaxing but now I'm back to the story. Sorry about the big lapse, hopefully you'll enjoy the chapter. Please review!

**Chapter 8**

The sun sparkled through the forest canopy as it shed its colorful bounty. Leaves of fiery colors twirled, fluttered and danced down to the ground. A maple tree's branches shuddered and rustled in the wind, and the stem of a large butterfly of a leaf, a five-pointed yellow specimen, wafted lazily down through the crisp, clean air.

A silver tom launched himself into a graceful arc, reaching towards the crystalline blue sky, and snagged the leaf with a single hooked claw. Stormpaw landed in a kaleidoscopic tornado as another gust of wind lifted a cloud of leaves around him.

"Uh, we're supposed to be catching _prey_."

Stormpaw's ears flickered in annoyance at Sparrowpaw's condescending tone, which killed his joy from just a moment before. The weather had been beautiful in the past moon, putting all cats in a good mood – except the brown tabby apprentice, it seemed. Even some warriors could be seen frolicking like kits through the falling leaves. Sparrowpaw insinuated such frivolity was beneath her, but Stormpaw knew otherwise. He had spied her rolling around in a pile of leaves just that morning.

Unfortunately, the lackadaisical wave had struck just the Clan just as they should have been working diligently to prepare for the winter. But how could anyone worry about a sharp blast of frosty cold on a day like today?

A flock of blackbirds exploded from the treetops in some other sector of the forest, but the sudden racket they created made Stormpaw jump. He glanced over at Sparrowpaw to see that her fur had exploded along her spine and her body had gone rigid with momentary terror. She hastily shook off the shock, but the wary look preceding the disdainful glare she sent his way did not evade Stormpaw's notice.

"I wonder what surprised them," Stormpaw mused, taking a wild stab at pleasantries.

"Who cares? Just a bunch of stupid birds," Sparrowpaw snapped. "I'm going this way. You better not get in my way."

_Good riddance_, Stormpaw thought as her fluffy brown tail whisked away through the underbrush, in the general direction of the lake. _Now I can actually concentrate._

In an unfortunate lapse of judgment, Silentwing and Ashstorm had decided to send their apprentices off on a hunting excursion together with no more instruction to head towards the Ancient Oak. Stormpaw did not know if their mentors were oblivious or indifferent to the tension between himself and Sparrowpaw; either way, it had not made baring her company any more pleasurable.

As soon as they had thought their mentors were out of sight and hearing, the two apprentices had bickered incessantly about everything from who walked in front to StarClan knows what. The quarrel had mounted steadily in nastiness – Stormpaw was ashamed to admit he had taken the bait and retaliated to her digs on his rogue heritage with some biting comments on her mouse-brained, loud-mouthed, know-it-all obnoxious stubbornness – until they had settled into a moody silence through the duration of the hastened trek to the Ancient Oak.

Stormpaw wasted no time in opening his mouth to taste the air, sifting through the strong, earthy scents of decaying leaves. One smell lingered on the outskirts of his ability to recall. It was rotten and foreboding and made his fur prickle with danger, and yet it seemed familiar…

But Stormpaw was immediately distracted by a spunky squirrel that launched itself through the undergrowth in his path. He did not hesitate to give chase, exhilarated by the exciting chase of the fluffy gray tail. When they burst into a small clearing, Stormpaw lurched to his halt. The squirrel had clattered up a nearby tree, but that was not what had startled him from his query.

It was the sudden, almost spectral appearance of Nightwing sitting hunched over in the middle of the clearing. The sun was streaming through the break in the leaves above, and yet her mangy looking black, white-patched coat still seemed shadowed.

Stormpaw supposed he must have been so absorbed in his chase that he had not noticed the she-cat just before him. A normal mistake for an apprentice, but he was still ashamed to have been caught unawares. Even more unnerving was when Nightwing slowly lifted her eyes to fix a piercing green stare on him.

The silvery apprentice stared intently back, but shifted uncomfortably under the intense gaze. It struck him that he hardly knew or saw this warrior at all. Since the incident with Swiftcreek, she had been scarce around the camp. He could not say whether she even slept in the warriors den regularly, though Poppystar seemed never to question the absence. Had the loss of the deputy affected Nightwing so? Uncomfortably, Stormpaw recalled the look of loss on the she-cat's face when she had hunched over the dead deputy's body, and realized that her eyes, while so sharp, still bore that gut-wrenching empty hopelessness.

They stared at each other for what seemed like moons to Stormpaw. Nightwing seemed unfazed, but she didn't have the pressure to catch more prey than a certain annoying apprentice, who would never let him hear the end of it if he didn't.

"You're that rogue's kit, aren't you?" Nightwing finally asked.

"My name is Stormpaw."

"Yes, yes, I know. So tell me, Stormpaw, what are you doing out here in the forest?"

"Hunting."

"For yourself?"

"No, for the clan!"_Of course!_ Stormpaw knew he would be proudly putting it right on the fresh-kill pile as soon as he got back to camp.

"Why? Because _Poppystar_ told you to?"

Stormpaw faltered, caught off guard by the questioning of the warrior code and feeding his clanmates, and the snarl that Nightwing had layered onto their leader's name.

"Why waste your time?" Nightwing persisted. "Why not just take what you can while you're still alive and make the best of it?"

"Because a Clan must look out for each other," Stormpaw said confidently. _Perhaps she's testing me_, he reasoned.

"What's the Clan ever done for me? For you?" Nightwing snarled. "Besides, it only hurts you to get close to anyone, anything. Don't get too attached to anything, mister apprentice. In the end, you'll just lose it."

Confused, Stormpaw said nothing as Nightwing slowly rose and slipped silently away through the bushes, like she was a ghost that had never been there.

_Is that cat okay?_ Stormpaw wondered. She was definitely off; could it be because of a sickness? Should he talk to Ashstorm about it, or Cedartail? Maybe even Poppystar. But surely the leader and deputy would be aware of one of their warriors being missing very often._ Smokepaw_, he decided. If there was an ailed cat he should know.

Again, Stormpaw's attention was seized by shuffling of a vole nearby, and he was drawn back into his original task.

By sunhigh, he had caught only a vole and a squirrel; a meager turnout for the time he had spent prowling. But the prey simply hadn't been out, and he had been delayed by the weird encounter with Nightwing. It was time to get back to Ashstorm, but he was dreading seeing Sparrowpaw, who would surely have more prey and very smug about it.

Suddenly a stifling smell flooded Stormpaw's nostrils. The tasty scent of the vole had prevented him from noticing it sooner – a rancid smell whose source he could see nearby at the base of a large tree. It was another massacred rabbit carcass, its glistening entrails strewn about. There were blood spatters on the trunk of a tree, as though it had been flung into it.

Stormpaw's hackles rose slowly, and he dropped his catch. The other heavy smell was something dark and pungent, one that he did not recognize with a name, but that his instincts told him meant doom. The cats of his clan were lucky enough to have been unbothered by a dog in generations, so that their knowledge of the creatures was minimal, and tactics to use against them were barely passed on.

Stormpaw froze in terror as he heard a jingling, loud panting, and heavy steps carrying a large body through the plants towards him. He knew that he was about to face what had been killing the rabbits, and he knew it was a monstrosity that the cats had not seen in ages, but talked of as though they were myth. It was not the teachings of his mentor that was telling him he was in mortal peril, but the gut instincts that StarClan had blessed him with. And it was these instincts that sent the pump of adrenaline surging through his limbs and told his mind to run for his life.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N**: Here's the next chapter! Sorry it took a little while, but I hope you like it - there's some action stirring up. :) Please let me know what you think and review!

**Chapter 9**

Stormpaw picked a direction and ran from the slavering and jingling. Unfortunately, he did not do so fast enough.

The dog had reentered the clearing, its nostrils flaring as it noticed the appealing scent of cat. It was a huge brown beast, to Stormpaw at least, maybe three times the height of an adult cat, with floppy triangular ears that were perked and a flag-like tail that was held erect. It did not take much cunning to see where it had gone; Stormpaw's tail was just disappearing through a fern.

Stormpaw thought his heart had stopped when he heard a _thud, thud, thud_ behind him; the heavy steps of the dog as it gave chase. He was so stricken in terror that his mind seemed to have seized up; his paws seemed to be flying across the ground of their own accord.

Leaves churned up underneath his paws and her scooped into the air by the dog's wake. He was a silver streak through the forest, eyes like discs, fixed ahead, looking for any escape route. Anywhere. He wasn't of conscious of where he was going, besides away, fast.

Up a small ridge they sped, what might have been an old creek bed, and down again. Past pines, over roots, under low branches. The panting behind him told him he couldn't stop. With a bark that froze his blood, the dog lunged and snapped, narrowly missing his tail as Stormpaw cut sharply to the right and darted around a tree, hoping to pull ahead with nimbler movements.

Stormpaw exploded through a thicket of brambles, but didn't slow, and the sharp bristles tore at his coat. The stinging pain was overwhelmed by his panic, so he did not slow until a good few paces later, when he ducked under a fallen tree trunk and realized he could no longer hear the dog barreling along behind him.

Slowly ever so slightly to a trot with his heart still hammering blood in his ears, Stormpaw chanced a glance over his shoulder. For a moment he allowed himself a flood of relief; the trail behind him was empty.

But no. The dog vaulted over the log, nearly crushing Stormpaw with his massive brown paws. He moved just in the nick of time, racing back under the log. He did not stop this time, running blindly back the way he had come.

_StarClan, please help me!_ Stormpaw screamed in his mind. _Please! I don't want to die!_

And suddenly it seemed his four paws were not alone. Countless silvery bodies surrounded him, languid cat figures that shimmered and moved swiftly along at his side like a current. It felt like there was a wind helping him run. An ethereal voice murmured in his ear,_ "Keep running, Stormpaw."_

For a moment Stormpaw wondered if the dog had gotten him, and he had passed on to run with StarClan afterall. But it passed; he somehow knew that, while StarClan was certainly with him, he was not yet among their ranks. And he would not be joining them for a while, or at least not now. The presence of his warrior ancestors running alongside him gave him the strength and confidence to keep running. Plus, he had a plan.

He almost could have laughed. The barking, big clawed dog pursuing him was still incentive enough to keep running, but something had changed. It was no longer such a desperate flee for his life; StarClan was with him, he was going to make it through. It was just a big, dumb brute, really. Cockily, Stormpaw even slowed slightly to taunt the dog with his tail; it lunged and he bounded ahead once more, whisking it away at the last moment with a hearty yowl of triumph over the larger yet inferior animal. Unnoticed by him, the StarClan warriors began to fade.

They had high-tailed it back to the clearing where the dog had left the massacred rabbit, and where Stormpaw had dropped his vole. Stormpaw ran right on past his abandoned piece of fresh-kill, trusting that the dog was lazy and would be tired, and go for the easier meal…

There was a happy bark from behind, and Stormpaw sensed his warrior ancestors dissipating from around him, but not before they presented him with a final concept: _Remember your Clan_.

_Yes!_ He cheered gleefully as he chanced a look over his shoulder. As planned, the dog had stopped by the vole, and was eagerly tearing into it, shaking it around like a toy.

He allowed himself to crank down his speed a few notches below his fastest, but still kept up a brisk pace. Who knew how long the dog would be preoccupied by its own glutton. Besides, he had to pull off the next stage of his plan, and fast.

As decreed by StarClan, he had his clan to protect. Though he longed to get back to the comforts of the camp, he could not head their directly, yet. First he loped to the closest stream he knew of, and immediately splashed into it, wincing as the water dampened his legs. For as far as he could go, he trotted through the water, his belly fur slowly soaking through. No way was the dog following his scent back to the camp.

"Stormpaw! Stormpaw, where have you been? You didn't even catch a single piece of prey?" Ashstorm exclaimed, looking rather put-out. Then she noticed her apprentice was quivering with fatigue, his eyes betraying the brush with death he had experienced. "What happened?"

"There was a dog!"

"A dog?" She repeated, disbelieving. Stormpaw reported a consolidated version of his adventure that was repeated shortly to Poppystar, Cedartail and a small group of warriors.

Silentwing pushed his way into the circle. "Where's Sparrowpaw?" He demanded.

"I… I don't know!" Stormpaw stammered.

"She hasn't come back yet!" Silentwing cried. The normally stoic, quiet warrior was clearly fraught with concern for his apprentice. Rabbitstep, Sparrowpaw's mother, gasped, looking desperately to her mate, Nightfur.

"A patrol must be set out at once. I will notify the Clan immediately; extra precautions will have to be taken," Poppystar commanded swiftly, wasting no time in beginning actions to protect her clan.

_A patrol already?_ Stormpaw thought. _Without any planning?_

Cedartail assumed his duty. "I'll lead the patrol to bring back Sparrowpaw. Silentwing, Rabbitstep, get Icestorm, she's a good tracker, and come with me. Hopefully we can hold our own against the dog."

"What about Nightwing?"

Poppystar turned around. "What about Nightwing? She's a perfectly capable warrior."

"But… I saw her out. She might now know about the dog…" Stormpaw mumbled.

"That cat spends too much time lagging away from camp, contributing nothing. Perhaps this will teach her a lesson for disregarding her clan."

Surprised by his leader's callousness, Stormpaw glanced around the camp and saw, with relief, that Nightwing was lurking outside the warriors den, looking as though she were in a stupor, although her ears were swiveled towards the conversation. He had been worried the discombobulated she-cat might have fallen prey to the dog.

"Cedartail, shouldn't I go with you? I saw where Sparrowpaw was last, I can take you there fastest."

"Aren't you exhausted from your run?" The deputy responded anxiously.

"No, he's right." Nightfur interjected, and Cedartail conceded to let Stormpaw come. Secretly, he was thrilled to be a part of this mission, no matter how annoying the cat they were saving was. Besides, he still had his confidence about the dog. Four warriors and an apprentice would certainly scare the stupid mutt away.

Poppystar had already called the camp to gather at the base of the Highrock, and was taking inventory to see if any other cats but Sparrowpaw were about. A hunting patrol had just returned so, fortunately, everyone else was accounted for. As she was announcing that all apprentices must be accompanied by a partner when outside of camp until the dog was dealt with, Cedartail's patrol of warriors slipped away.

The patrol was silent as Stormpaw took the lead once they were outside of the camp. He bounded ahead, confident in where they were going, despite Cedartail's hissed warning to be careful. They had been in a clearing close to the Ancient Oak, a few fox-lengths away.

The cats began bristling nervously as they approached the scene of the incident; the dog's smell lingered more heavily in the spots where he had charged back and forth after Stormpaw. The apprentice marveled at how much they had run, cutting wide loops through the forest, the dog leaving thick gouges in the earth where it tried to keep up with a cat's more nimble movements.

But how had they missed it? Stormpaw wondered. Were the cats simply so out of touch with the concept of dogs that they hadn't noticed one? But surely a patrol would have noticed the foreign scent on the territory if a stranger creature had started living in the forest. Maybe, then, it wasn't living here, and only visiting for short enough periods of time that it hadn't settled…

"Here's where we split up. Sparrowpaw went that way," Stormpaw announced, gesturing towards the lake.

"Sparrowpaw!" Rabbitstep called abruptly, apparently desperate to find her daughter.

"Quiet!" Cedartail hissed, as he whisked his tail across her mouth. "What if the dog's around?"

_Mouse-brain!_ Stormpaw couldn't help thinking. _Cedartail shouldn't have brought the parents if their judgement is this clouded! If I were deputy…_ He blinked, startled as his own thoughts.

"I've got her scent," Icestorm murmured. "We can just follow it."

Stormpaw bounded forward to find the scent himself, wanting to play the most helpful role he could. "Keep alert," Cedartail heeded them all.

The procession moved silently now, Icestorm in the lead with Stormpaw close behind, the other three following as a wary guard.

"Look out!" Rabbitstep yowled suddenly, as, moments later, a familiar panting could be heard. Despite his previous confidence, the sight of the huge brown beast trotting absently along was enough to make Stormpaw's blood run cold. Downwind, it may not have noticed the cats but for Rabbitstep's screech, but it certainly saw them now.

The dog wheeled, lunged and snapped at them. Terrified, the cats scattered. The dog pursued Icestorm, the most noticeable with her pure white coat among the dark forest floor, and lunged with a snap. The other cats pelted from the clearing, the dog barking in pursuit, while Stormpaw threw himself at a tree trunk and clawed his way up in a burst of adrenaline.

Quiet suddenly, the clearing was quiet again, almost eerily so. Stormpaw crouched on a branch, sides heaving. _Stupid!_ He berated himself. _Getting scared by that dumb dog again!_ And what of the others? They had been petrified. _Stupid, stupid._ He thought, digging his claws into the bark. Now what were they going to do? This should have been planned better!

_This is your chance!_ A voice seemed to shout in his head, so loud that he shook his head to clear his ears afterwards. Then he felt like a mouse-brain for not having realized sooner. He could be the hero. While the dog was distracted, he would go find Sparrowpaw, warn her of the danger if she didn't already know, and bring her back.

Carefully, he scaled down the trunk, and paused at the base, tasting the air and perking his ears. No one was coming back this way, it seemed. He hurried back in the direction they had originally been going, quickly recovering Sparrowpaw's scent.


End file.
